Global Experiences in the MBA Program

How can you change the world if you don’t understand it? Participating in a global experience is a highlight — and requirement — for all our future leaders.

Broaden your worldview even further than Stanford’s diverse, international community. During your global experience, you’ll come to understand new perspectives, complex social issues, and differing economic systems that you can take with you as you move forward in your career.

Make Your Journey Your Own

See business through a more global lens during a structured, intellectually rigorous program. Choose from existing program opportunities that align with your goals or create your own.

Global Management Immersion Experience (GMIX)

Develop your global mindset by engaging with a new culture and workplace, and apply your academic knowledge and skills to a four-week project with a sponsoring organization. GMIX includes hands-on opportunities spanning countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and the Middle East.

GMIX projects cover a wide array of industries, such as consumer products, international development, energy, finance, health care, media and entertainment, technology, and telecommunications. No matter your specific interests, there’s an opportunity to challenge yourself and deepen your cultural understanding.

A really special experience in a country that not many have [had] the privilege of visiting or knowing in the way that you will — 90% of what you see will be unseen by others, so cherish the unknowns and discomfort, a different way of living, and learning from different styles of conducting business.
— Megha Agarwal, MBA '25

Recent GMIX Project Opportunities

South Africa

Growth Product Manager

The Afara Initiative is a fast-growing social enterprise based in Nigeria, with a mission to empower Nigerian youth to be globally competitive and achieve successful career outcomes.

Singapore

Payment System Strategist

Growsari has built a large e-lista BNPL product to support FMCG purchases directly from Growsari. The credit program has grown to be one of its largest products, but is still constrained in that stores can only use it for Growsari purchases.

Spain

Product Manager

CrowdFarming is a Madrid-based ag-tech offering digital solutions to organic farmers, enjoying solid growth in the European organic food market. The company is launching its digital business verticals to expand its operations into new markets and defining its digital product strategy.

Learn How to Sponsor a GMIX

Global Study Trips (GSTs)

Want to share a transformative experience with your peers? Global Study Trips offer an intensive opportunity to travel with 20–30 of your classmates. You’ll examine challenging international issues, like sustainability, rapidly changing societal demographics, or emerging AI technologies, and work together to brainstorm and explore innovative solutions.

Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (STEP)

Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program (STEP) is an academic course (GSBGEN 598: STEP) and a cross-cultural experiential learning program for participants from the GSB and the Tsinghua School of Economics and Management in Beijing, China. During Autumn and Winter quarters of their second year, ~20 GSB students work remotely and in person with Tsinghua University students on academic projects. The student teams and their faculty advisors visit one another (GSB students travel to Beijing over Thanksgiving week in November; Tsinghua students travel to Stanford in January/February) for a deep-dive experience to gain business insights, build cultural context, and develop long-lasting relationships with their peers

STEP was one of the biggest highlights of my whole GSB experience. It gave me not only great friends from across the globe, but also an enhanced cultural, business, and personal understanding of the world's second largest economy. I will always treasure memories from visiting China's top tech companies and cultural attractions, singing karaoke with the Tsinghua students, and hosting them in Palo Alto as they experienced our traditions.
— Bruno Koba, MBA ‘25

Self-Directed Experiences

Want to develop an independent study project with a Stanford GSB faculty member? Or perhaps you’re interested in creating your own global internship? We’ll help you craft a global experience focused on your academic and career goals (and passions).

I completed [an independent study] about litigation finance and its potential for ESG in different jurisdictions across the globe. It was an extraordinary opportunity to spend a quarter supervised by an [a faculty] industry expert at GSB, explore the legal and cultural particularities of four different countries, interview leading practitioners, and develop a perspective about the global future of litigation finance. This unique research experience and learning broadened my worldview and could only have been possible at the GSB.
— Zooey Carter Wilkinson, MBA '25

Every Day on Campus Is Global

While there’s no substitute for immersing yourself in another country and culture, every day on campus is global in nature due to our community and coursework. We encourage you to interact and gain new perspectives from the students, faculty, and speakers all around you. Join any of our classes or clubs with international representation.

Clubs with international representation:

  • Africa Business Club
  • Australia and New Zealand Club
  • Europe Club
  • Greater China Business Club
  • Latin American Student Association
  • Middle East and North Africa Club
  • Student Association International Committee
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